Kryptic

Kryptic is a Canadian horror thriller film, directed by Kourtney Roy and released in 2024.^[1] The film stars Chloe Pirrie in a dual role as Barb Valentine, a cryptid hunter who has disappeared while hunting for the Sooka, a mysterious forest creature, and Kay, a woman who herself encounters the Sooka while searching for Barb, and abandons her life to embark on a new quest for meaning and identity after the encounter eliminates all her memories of who she used to be.^[2]

Kryptic
Directed by	Kourtney Roy
Written by	Paul Bromley
Produced by	Josh Huculiak Amber Ripley Sophie Venner
Starring	Chloe Pirrie Jeff Gladstone Jason Deline
Cinematography	David Bird
Edited by	Tommasso Gallone
Music by	Cayne McKenzie
Production companies	Garden Productions Goodbye Productions Z56film
Release date	March 10, 2024 (2024-03-10) (SXSW)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English

The cast also includes Jeff Gladstone, Jason Deline, Ali Rusu-Tahir, Kamantha Naidoo, Jenna Hill, Pam Kearns, Jane Stanton, Sara J. Southey, Jennifer Copping, Moses Wamukoya, Sarah Hayward, Patti Allan, Christina Lewall and Ardy Ramezani.

Distribution

The film premiered at the 2024 SXSW festival,^[2] and had its Canadian premiere at the 28th Fantasia International Film Festival.^[1] It is slated to screen in the Borsos Competition program at the 2024 Whistler Film Festival.^[3]

Following its premiere at SXSW, the film landed a number of distribution deals for European territories.^[4]

Critical response

Josh Korngut of Exclaim! rated the film 6 out of 10, writing that "Pirrie as Kay helps the film avoid stumbling under the pressure of its confusing plot. Her wide-eyed, hushed energy brings to mind Rebecca Hall in dark indies like Christine and Resurrection. She's as alienated and lost as the audience is for the majority of the movie, but when she does come into her power, it's a pleasure to witness — especially for gorehounds."^[1]

For the Austin Chronicle, Alejandra Martinez called the film a flawed but promising debut, writing that "Pirrie brings a roiling, internal force that keeps the movie’s momentum going, and keeps the audience on its toes. We never know what Kay/Barb is going to do next; Pirrie makes the chaotic, untethered nature of the dual roles a compelling tight-wire act worth seeing. From investigating leads to being potentially possessed by something beyond our understanding, she makes the intensity of Kay/Barb’s journey real."^[2]

Mary Beth McAndrews of Dread Central wrote that "Kryptic becomes a road movie fairy tale about a woman searching for the truth but she doesn’t really know what that truth is, exactly. Her search leads her to trailer parks and manicured suburbs where she meets a colorful, and sometimes sinister, cast of characters who make Kay very aware of her own body and how she interacts with the world around her. That includes the reality of sexual assault and how strangers and lovers alike are capable of sexual violence, especially when men wish to exert control over the female body."^[5]